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1/28/10
This is a diagram I created to give others an idea of how Mrs. Herring has her classroom lain out. It's amazing how important the design of the learning environment can be for for classroom management - it should be warm, inviting, and motivating - just like you see here!



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2/9/10
This is the bulletin board Mrs. Herring let me create to help provide the class with some visual aids of the things we celebrate during the month of February. There are photographs of Martin Luther King, Jr to help us recognize that this is African American History Month, there are silhouettes of President Abraham Lincoln and President George Washington for President's Day, and there are lots of pretty Valentine's decorations, too.
Next week, the students will have the chance to add to this bulletin board by displaying their favorite Valentine cards they received from friends, as well.


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2/16/10
My student and his great big smile as he shares his artwork. This is a rainbow bird we made by tracing his hands. Although I helped with the cutting, my student did every bit of the sticky gluing and vibrant coloring all by himself! He even decided to name his bird "Chirpie"!

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2/23/10
Check out the style! My student was eager to show everyone his new shoes today, so that became one of our positive reinforcements. If he did his best to listen attentively to follow all the rules and directions for his lessons, and remembered to use his words to share his feelings when he became frustrated or confused with his work, then he would have his picture taken with his new "fast flying shoes."
Great job listening and keeping self-control today, kiddo!

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3/1/10
Today in math, we worked on sorting and categorizing skills. This was a fun activity because everyone got lots of different kinds of candy to work with and when we finished the activity, it made a yummy snack! Also, we talked about all the different ways we each came up with to sort and group our tasty treats - by color, type, size, shape, or even flavor!
Eating so much candy also makes us very silly by the end of the lesson - very glad recess was next!


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3/4/10
Taaadaaa! Here is my "Teacher Made Product" ~ a divider that I constructed out of PVC pipe spray painted a brilliant purple and draped with sheer polka-dot fabric. It is meant to separate the computer area from the remainder of the classroom because the boys were becoming distracted from their work when friends were allowed computer time. Since the fabric is sheer, though, it still allows for easy classroom management because a teacher can easily keep an eye on students' activity even if the divider is in place.
I am very proud that my supervising teacher loves her new divider. It made me feel so great when she called teachers from neighboring classrooms to come have a look at it!!
Thanks again for letting me share my arts & crafts side with you and your students, Mrs. Herring!